Lenovo’s 27″ IdeaCentre Horizon Table PC is What Surface Should Have Been

Lenovo’s brand new IdeaCentre Horizon is, at heart, an all-in-one PC. That moniker doesn’t quite do the Horizon justice, though, as the 27” computer manages to bring a little bit more to the table.

Lenovo is branding the Horizon as a Table PC, something that could do what computers up until now have largely failed to do – bring the family together. The Horizon features 10-point multi-touch, and allows multiple people to interact with the screen at the same time. The Horizon will mostly take advantage of that through gaming – specifically, more traditional, family-friendly board games, with a digital twist. The computer will actually come with a few physical accessories, like e-dice and joysticks, that can be used with games designed just for the Horizon. There will be some prominent developers behind those games, including EA and Ubisoft. Monopoly is one example offered – you’ll be able to use physical dice, which, when thrown, will interact with the surface of the Horizon (those e-dice mentioned above). Lenovo calls the whole experience “phygital”. The idea is pretty cool, though, and has been shown to work before, especially in a few of Disney’s app/toy tie-ins.

All of this is possible when the Horizon is in Lenovo Aura mode. That’s activated by laying the computer flat, thanks to Lenovo’s smart hinge. When in Aura mode, those multi-touch, multi-user features are enabled, and the computer becomes an interactive table that the family can gather around (still probably wouldn’t eat on it, though). The computer can be wall mounted or angled up to 90 degrees, and in that mode, it’s your standard all-in-one PC.

The tech inside doesn’t disappoint, either. You can get up to a 3rd generation Intel Core i7 processor, along with an NVIDIA GeForce GT 620M graphics processor. The Horizon runs Windows 8, and that 27” screen is LED backlit, in 1920 x 1080 resolution and 16:9 widescreen. You can get up to 8 GB of DDR3 RAM and 1 TB of HDD storage, with an extra 64 GB SSD optional, if you really want faster boot-up times for your computer and essential apps. Audio is handled by Dolby Home Theater v4. There are HDMI and USB 3.0 ports, as well. You’ll also get a 720p HD webcam, along with Bluetooth and complete Wi-Fi support. It’s impressively thin, at 27 mm, and can run on battery power for up to two hours.

The Lenovo IdeaCentre Horizon will be out sometime early this summer, and will retail for about $1,700.
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